How many dimensions does the human brain think in? Research says up to 11
Why it matters to you
Research will lead to a better understanding of how the brain works, and could one day be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
You may have never wondered how many dimensions your brain thinks in, but if you have, the real answer could be more than you’re expecting. It’s a many as 11.
That’s according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. It uses algebraic topology (what else?) to show how the structures in the brain react when information is processed. And, as it turns out, that means a whole lot more dimensions than your run-of-the-mill height, width, depth, and time.
“How the structure of the brain shapes its function is one of the central mysteries of neuroscience,” Kathryn Hess Bellwald, a professor in the Laboratory for Topology and Neuroscience at Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, told Digital Trends. “The connections among the neurons in the brain form an incredibly rich and intricate structure, of which it is difficult to provide a quantitative global description. The firing patterns of neurons in reaction to stimuli are, if anything, even more complex. By examining structure and activity through the filter of algebraic topology, we were able to provide quantitative descriptions of both and to discern a reflection of the connectivity structure of a neural circuit in the shape of its response to stimuli.”
This stunning image shows neurons in action in the brain.
The paper is pretty mind-bending stuff (no pun intended) that helps unpack some of the enormous complexity in the brain. For example, one of its interesting points is about the neural “sand castles,” referring to the fantastically complex structures that the brain constructs as it processes information. This is a geometric reflection of the increasing degree of coordination and organization in neuronal firing that takes place as the brain reacts to a stimulus, which vanishes abruptly once the processing ends.
This is where the multidimensional stuff comes into play, since it relates to how neurons connect to one another. For instance, two neurons connect to make a one-dimensional “rod,” while three make a 2D triangle, four make a 3D pyramid, and so on. As you can imagine, when you get to possible 11D objects, things get all sorts of crazy. And that’s without even worrying about the math.
It might sound like densely abstract research (and it kind of is), but according to Hess Bellwald, there are potential real-world applications to the discovery.
“In the long run, if we develop a deep understanding of what a normal pattern of response to a given input stimulus looks like, expressed in the language of algebraic topology, then we could perhaps use this knowledge to detect and quantify brain pathology, such as that arising in neurodegenerative diseases,” she said.
Since mind-reading tech is currently all the rage for everything from predicting movie box office numbers to helping paralyzed individuals move again, this could turn out to be incredibly useful research.
We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us
Why it matters to you
Ora’s GrapheneQ tech could represent a revolutionary step forward for headphones, speakers, and much more.
Graphene, one of the most buzzed-about carbon compounds in material science, has the potential to transform industries, not the least of which is the world of sound. There’s only one problem: It’s really expensive. But audio researcher Peter Gaskell thinks he’s cracked the graphene conundrum.
Ora, a Montreal-based startup Gaskell co-founded with Sergii Tutashkonko — who holds a Ph.D. in material science — wants to be the first to market with graphene-based headphones. Gaskell, who holds a Ph.D. himself in audio recording, stopped by Digital Trends’ New York office to demo his new creation ahead of the company’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. They’re tentatively dubbed the GrapheneQ Headphones, and spoiler alert, they sound pretty fantastic.
Stronger, lighter, faster
Graphene is a highly conductive, flexible, and strong material made of latticed carbon atoms bonded in a hexagonal pattern (read our guide to Graphene). Scientists theorized its structure in the 1940s, but didn’t managed to isolate a layer until decades later, in 2004. Since then, it’s been used in new ways as an amazing conductor of electricity.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
But it’s good for more than conducting electricity. Graphene has been proposed for use in applications like detecting cancer, filtering water, and heating your home because it’s a stiffer, lighter, and thinner material than comparable composites. Lucky for us, these are all characteristics which have an impact on sound. It’s all about physics: Traditional dynamic drivers, also called moving coil drivers, use an electrically charged voice coil to move a cone, which in turn creates sound waves. The heavier a speaker’s cone, the harder is to drive. With their incredible strength-to-weight ratio, graphene drivers cut down on the amount of power that’s required to move the coil back and forth, creating better efficiency, and in theory, better sound.
They feel reassuringly durable in the hand.
The drivers Ora has made for its new headphones aren’t made of pure graphene, however. Instead, Ora opted for a hybrid approach it calls GrapheneQ, an oxide compound that employs nanotechnology to deposit flakes of graphene into thousands of layers that are bonded together. Ora says the resulting GrapheneQ compound is 95 percent graphene by weight, and highly malleable, which makes it comparatively easy to mass produce.
It’s also the key to the GrapheneQ Headphones’s affordability, priced at just $200 for the first few hundred backers, as GrapheneQ can be produced for a fraction of the cost of traditional graphene. Ora claims the frequency response is on par with CVD-Diamond, a high-end membrane that costs upwards of ten times Ora’s compound. The company also claims its design reduces power consumption by up to 70 percent.
The cans
The GrapheneQ Headphones themselves are over-the-ear, wood-accented cans featuring lambskin leather, premium fabric, and memory foam. They feel reassuringly durable in the hand, with a cup length adjustment mechanism along the band that locks firmly in place. With the exception of the ear cups, which have so much padding they hugged our face a bit too tightly, the GrapheneQ are exceptionally comfortable to wear.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
They offer Bluetooth wireless connection, with intuitive touchpad controls and a microphone for hands-free phone calls built in. Along with Bluetooth, you can plug in via a removable 3.5mm cable, and you can also connect to a PC or other device via USB-C. Battery life has not yet been disclosed, but thanks to graphene’s high efficiency it’s expected to be extremely long — possibly even disruptive.
The sound
Before we slipped on a pair, Gaskell had us listen to two black, nondescript bookshelf speakers set side-by-side — one equipped with Ora’s GrapheneQ driver, and one with an off-the-shelf alternative. The differences were subtle, but in genres like classic rock and classical, the GrapheneQ model’s reproduction of vocals and strings respectively exhibited more clarity and detail than its non-graphene counterpart.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
In the case of the headphones, the contrast was a lot starker. After comparing them to our $300 BeoPlay H6 headphones, we walked away very impressed. In fact, the GrapheneQ served up some of the clearest, most consistent sound we’ve heard at their price point. To be fair, we tested a pre-production model — a lot could change between now and when the headphones begin shipping next year. But our initial experience with the GrapheneQ Headphones was extremely promising.
Graphene in your pocket
While the GrapheneQ Headphones serve as an entry point, Ora says headphones are just the beginning. The company is in talks with automotive, speaker, and cellphone companies to produce custom graphene solutions for cars, smartwatches, phones, and more. It’s working with hearing aid makers on louder units that last longer on a single charge, and it has also partnered with virtual reality headset companies to develop graphene-based headphones optimized for spatial audio.
“We’re applying our expertise in nanotechnology to push the fundamental limits of speaker technology.”
Ora is particularly bullish on the smartphone industry, where it thinks applying GrapheneQ tech could result in smaller, low-power speakers that sound better than those mounted in your current smartphone. The company goes so far as to say that six cell phone manufacturers — including “the top two in the world” — have experimented with incorporating GrapheneQ (the top two smartphone makers in the world are Samsung and Apple).
“We’re applying our expertise in nanotechnology to push the fundamental limits of speaker technology,” Gaskell said. “From inception, [we’ve] taken an industry-driven approach to design, manufacturing, and materials development.”
To that end, Ora is taking pains to manage expectations with the GraphenQ Headphones. It’s specifying a two-month delivery buffer window, and setting aside inventory for early adopters.
“We are confident as possible that we will not only achieve our vision of professional sound through nanotechnology, but that we will deliver [it] on time,” he said.
The GrapheneQ launches on Kickstarter June 20, with retail availability to follow in March 2018. The first several hundred backers can reserve a pair for $200, but Ora’s anticipating a suggested retail price between $500 and $600.
We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us
Why it matters to you
Ora’s GrapheneQ tech could represent a revolutionary step forward for headphones, speakers, and much more.
Graphene, one of the most buzzed-about carbon compounds in material science, has the potential to transform industries, not the least of which is the world of sound. There’s only one problem: It’s really expensive. But audio researcher Peter Gaskell thinks he’s cracked the graphene conundrum.
Ora, a Montreal-based startup Gaskell co-founded with Sergii Tutashkonko — who holds a Ph.D. in material science — wants to be the first to market with graphene-based headphones. Gaskell, who holds a Ph.D. himself in audio recording, stopped by Digital Trends’ New York office to demo his new creation ahead of the company’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. They’re tentatively dubbed the GrapheneQ Headphones, and spoiler alert, they sound pretty fantastic.
Stronger, lighter, faster
Graphene is a highly conductive, flexible, and strong material made of latticed carbon atoms bonded in a hexagonal pattern (read our guide to Graphene). Scientists theorized its structure in the 1940s, but didn’t managed to isolate a layer until decades later, in 2004. Since then, it’s been used in new ways as an amazing conductor of electricity.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
But it’s good for more than conducting electricity. Graphene has been proposed for use in applications like detecting cancer, filtering water, and heating your home because it’s a stiffer, lighter, and thinner material than comparable composites. Lucky for us, these are all characteristics which have an impact on sound. It’s all about physics: Traditional dynamic drivers, also called moving coil drivers, use an electrically charged voice coil to move a cone, which in turn creates sound waves. The heavier a speaker’s cone, the harder is to drive. With their incredible strength-to-weight ratio, graphene drivers cut down on the amount of power that’s required to move the coil back and forth, creating better efficiency, and in theory, better sound.
They feel reassuringly durable in the hand.
The drivers Ora has made for its new headphones aren’t made of pure graphene, however. Instead, Ora opted for a hybrid approach it calls GrapheneQ, an oxide compound that employs nanotechnology to deposit flakes of graphene into thousands of layers that are bonded together. Ora says the resulting GrapheneQ compound is 95 percent graphene by weight, and highly malleable, which makes it comparatively easy to mass produce.
It’s also the key to the GrapheneQ Headphones’s affordability, priced at just $200 for the first few hundred backers, as GrapheneQ can be produced for a fraction of the cost of traditional graphene. Ora claims the frequency response is on par with CVD-Diamond, a high-end membrane that costs upwards of ten times Ora’s compound. The company also claims its design reduces power consumption by up to 70 percent.
The cans
The GrapheneQ Headphones themselves are over-the-ear, wood-accented cans featuring lambskin leather, premium fabric, and memory foam. They feel reassuringly durable in the hand, with a cup length adjustment mechanism along the band that locks firmly in place. With the exception of the ear cups, which have so much padding they hugged our face a bit too tightly, the GrapheneQ are exceptionally comfortable to wear.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
They offer Bluetooth wireless connection, with intuitive touchpad controls and a microphone for hands-free phone calls built in. Along with Bluetooth, you can plug in via a removable 3.5mm cable, and you can also connect to a PC or other device via USB-C. Battery life has not yet been disclosed, but thanks to graphene’s high efficiency it’s expected to be extremely long — possibly even disruptive.
The sound
Before we slipped on a pair, Gaskell had us listen to two black, nondescript bookshelf speakers set side-by-side — one equipped with Ora’s GrapheneQ driver, and one with an off-the-shelf alternative. The differences were subtle, but in genres like classic rock and classical, the GrapheneQ model’s reproduction of vocals and strings respectively exhibited more clarity and detail than its non-graphene counterpart.
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
In the case of the headphones, the contrast was a lot starker. After comparing them to our $300 BeoPlay H6 headphones, we walked away very impressed. In fact, the GrapheneQ served up some of the clearest, most consistent sound we’ve heard at their price point. To be fair, we tested a pre-production model — a lot could change between now and when the headphones begin shipping next year. But our initial experience with the GrapheneQ Headphones was extremely promising.
Graphene in your pocket
While the GrapheneQ Headphones serve as an entry point, Ora says headphones are just the beginning. The company is in talks with automotive, speaker, and cellphone companies to produce custom graphene solutions for cars, smartwatches, phones, and more. It’s working with hearing aid makers on louder units that last longer on a single charge, and it has also partnered with virtual reality headset companies to develop graphene-based headphones optimized for spatial audio.
“We’re applying our expertise in nanotechnology to push the fundamental limits of speaker technology.”
Ora is particularly bullish on the smartphone industry, where it thinks applying GrapheneQ tech could result in smaller, low-power speakers that sound better than those mounted in your current smartphone. The company goes so far as to say that six cell phone manufacturers — including “the top two in the world” — have experimented with incorporating GrapheneQ (the top two smartphone makers in the world are Samsung and Apple).
“We’re applying our expertise in nanotechnology to push the fundamental limits of speaker technology,” Gaskell said. “From inception, [we’ve] taken an industry-driven approach to design, manufacturing, and materials development.”
To that end, Ora is taking pains to manage expectations with the GraphenQ Headphones. It’s specifying a two-month delivery buffer window, and setting aside inventory for early adopters.
“We are confident as possible that we will not only achieve our vision of professional sound through nanotechnology, but that we will deliver [it] on time,” he said.
The GrapheneQ launches on Kickstarter June 20, with retail availability to follow in March 2018. The first several hundred backers can reserve a pair for $200, but Ora’s anticipating a suggested retail price between $500 and $600.
Intel gives the boot to its Edison, Galileo, and Joule single-board computers
Why it matters to you
If you’re thinking about picking up a single-board computer anytime soon, you will likely want to steer clear of Intel’s offerings.
The PC-maker movement gained a great deal of momentum over the last several years, likely propelled by a growing interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) and the existence of increasingly powerful CPUs and other components that fit into smaller packages. Raspberry Pi is likely the best known single-board PC in this market, but major players like Intel have also been present.
In fact, Intel has had a number of products on the market aimed at the do-it-yourself IoT user, including its Galileo, Edison, and Joule lineups. It looks like the company is pulling out of the market, however, or at last dropping these particular products, Hackaday reports.
The news comes from a number of PDFs that lay out the timelines for each of the solutions. According to the documents, Galileo, Edison, and Joule will remain available for now but will no longer be shipping once 2017 comes to a close.
Intel’s Arduino-certified Galileo development board was already likely on its way out, given that Microsoft dropped support for the platform in its Windows 10 IoT Core product in 2015. Microsoft’s reasoning for the decision was that Galileo did not meet the minimum requirements of Windows 10 IoT Core due to the use of Intel’s Quark X1000 processor that just was not quite powerful enough for Microsoft’s tastes.
The second version of Intel’s Edison board is of a more robust design, utilizing its Atom Z34XX processor that is more in line with Windows 10 IoT Core’s requirements. It can utilize up to 1GB of DDR3 RAM, 4GB of eMMC flash storage, and incorporates both Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi radios. It, too, is Arduino-compatible.
Finally, Joule is the most robust of Intel’s single-board computers. It sports a quad-core 64-bit Intel Atom processor, up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB of eMMC storage, and is capable of 4K video display.
There is no specific reason given as to why Intel is dropping support for these products, nor any indication that the company might not jump back in with new products. For now, though, competitors like Raspberry Pi should gain a bit of a boost as such a larger player leaves the market, and anyone looking to build a project with a single-board computer should steer clear of Intel’s offerings.
The best cheap smartphones you can buy
Update: We’ve removed the OnePlus 3T as the company has replaced it with the OnePlus 5. The OnePlus 5 is now our top pick, and the ZTE Axon 7 is now the second best budget Android smartphone.
Well more than a billion smartphones were sold across the world in 2016. One of the great things about the fierce competition in the smartphone market is that prices are tumbling down. That makes buying a smartphone outright, without being locked into a two-year contract, a realistic possibility for everyone under the sun.
The tricky part is finding the right phone for you, but don’t worry, because we’re here to help. We’ve been testing out the best budget smartphones and this is our short list. If you have a little more money to spend, head over to our Best Smartphones guide to see our top picks.
Our pick
OnePlus 5
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Why should you buy this: With specifications surpassing even the Samsung Galaxy S8, the OnePlus 5 does everything well at a fraction of the cost.
Our Score
The best
OnePlus 5
The OnePlus 5 packs in greater specs than the $750 Samsung Galaxy S8, at a fraction of the cost.
$479.00 from OnePlus
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a near stock Android experience at a lower price than the Google Pixel
How much will it cost: $480+
Why we picked the OnePlus 5:
While the $480 price tag means this is the most expensive OnePlus smartphone to date, you’ll be hard pressed to find internals as powerful for a comparable price. The OnePlus 5 is sleek, with a minimal design that resembles the iPhone. Even the dual-camera setup on the rear is heavily inspired by the camera on Apple’s latest iPhone 7 Plus — there’s a Portrait mode that adds in a bokeh-effect, where it blurs out the background of a subject. It’s mostly accurate, even sometimes beating out the iPhone 7 Plus.
Want the fastest Qualcomm processor to power your smartphone? The OnePlus 5 has you covered with the Snapdragon 835. It’s the same chip powering the Samsung Galaxy S8, the HTC U11, and Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium — phones that cost more than $650 — and it even offers more RAM. You get a choice of either 6GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, or 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage.
The 5.5-inch AMOLED screen only offers a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution, but that should be more than enough for most people. You also get Bluetooth 5, which offers faster connectivity and range, along with OnePlus’ proprietary fast-charging technology, Dash Charge. It gives you a full day of battery life in just 30 minutes. Speaking of the battery, it has a 3,300mAh capacity and it’s charged via a USB Type-C port. And yes, you can charge and listen to music at the same time, because there’s a headphone jack on the bottom of the phone.
One of the OnePlus 5’s biggest draw is its incredibly smooth and accessible user experience. The Oxygen Operating System is based on Android 7.1.1, and the user interface is akin to the Google Pixel, except you get a lot more customization options. For example, you can turn on a system-wide dark mode, or you can change the accent color of the notification drawer, and more.
You should note the OnePlus 5 is only available on GSM networks, meaning you can use it on AT&T and T-Mobile, but it won’t work with a Sprint or Verizon connection. Other downsides are that it does not have any water resistance, it’s a little slippery, some people may not like how similar it looks to the iPhone, and the camera isn’t anything to write home about. But for $480, you’re getting equal, if not better performance, than the Galaxy S8 — all in a smartphone without time for gimmicky features.
OnePlus 5 Review
The best cheap iPhone
iPhone SE
Why should you buy this: It’s the best 4-inch smartphone ever made with many of the same specs as the iPhone 6S and a strong camera.
Our Score
The best cheap iPhone
Apple iPhone SE
Nearly all the features and functions of the more expensive iPhone 6S in a smaller, cheaper body.
$399.99 from T-Mobile
$399.99 from Verizon
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants an iPhone, but has limited cash or just likes ‘em small
How much will it cost: $400+
Why we picked the iPhone SE:
This is the obvious choice for bargain-seeking Apple fans who have their hearts set on an iPhone. It takes most of the features of the iPhone 6S and packs them into the body of an iPhone 5S. If you feel like modern smartphones are getting too big, then the iPhone SE will suit you perfectly.
It has the same A9 processor as the 6S, backed by 2GB of RAM. On paper that doesn’t sound impressive, but in terms of real world performance, it’s lightning fast and beats many more expensive phones. There’s a great 12-megapixel main camera that takes sharp, crisp, natural-looking photos, and has support for Live Photos. You also get Touch ID, Siri, and NFC for Apple Pay.
The 4-inch screen matches the 6S for pixel density, so it’s sharp and clear. The iOS platform is very easy to use and you get access to an excellent library of slick apps and games. The battery is only rated at 1,642mAh, but since it’s powering a smaller display, it results in above average stamina.
Inevitably, there are some disappointments here. The front-facing camera is just 1.2-megapixels, so this is not the phone for selfie fans. The basic version only has 16GB of storage, which isn’t enough, and it will cost you an extra $50 to jump up to 64GB. There’s also no 3D Touch. Despite the compromises, this is the most reasonably priced iPhone you can buy right now.
iPhone SE Review
The second budget Android phone
ZTE Axon 7
Why should you buy this: It’s a true flagship killer with high-end specs, great processing power, and a sharp camera — all wrapped up in a sleek metal package.
Our Score
The best $400 phablet
ZTE Axon 7
You can’t do better than the Axon 7, if you want a phablet for $400.
$359.99 from Amazon
$367.99 from Best Buy
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a great Android phone at a relatively low price
How much will it cost: $400
Why we picked the ZTE Axon 7:
Nothing about the ZTE Axon 7 suggests a budget price. This is a classy piece of tech, sporting an attractive all-metal design with prominent dual speaker grilles flanking a gorgeous 5.5-inch AMOLED screen. It looks and feels expensive and it can compete with some of the best Android phones on performance.
Things don’t get any less impressive when you pop the hood, because there’s a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB RAM and a whopping 64GB internal storage inside. There’s also a more expensive 128GB version with a whopping 6GB of RAM, and you get a MicroSD card slot for further expansion in both models.
You won’t be disappointed by the camera, either. It features a 21-megapixel camera sensor with electronic and optical image stabilization. The front-facing camera is rated at 8-megapixels. Both take great pictures and offer manual settings. A 3,140mAh battery ensures that the Axon 7 will get through an average day with juice to spare.
Then there’s the front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology for unrivaled smartphone sound. If you’re looking for the compromise, you’ll be hard pressed to find it. Even ZTE’s MiFavor UI is mercifully close to stock Android and the manufacturer has pushed out Android 7.0 Nougat, the latest and greatest Android version from Google.
One thing to watch out for is that the ZTE Axon 7 is not officially supported on Verizon or Sprint. It is technically capable of working with their networks, and some people report limited success, but your mileage may vary. It’s also slippery, it’s not water resistant, and there’s no wireless charging support, but we’re nitpicking because this is an unparalleled phone for the money.
ZTE Axon 7 Review
The best phone under $300
Moto G5 Plus
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
Why should you buy this: The Moto G5 Plus is a great, cheap Android phone with solid specs and a decent camera that won’t let you down.
Our Score
The best budget camera phone
Moto G4 Plus
This is an unbeatable camera for the price.
$189.99 from Amazon
$249.99 from Motorola
Who’s it for: Pure Android fans on a budget who prize substance over style
How much will it cost: $280
Why we picked the Moto G5 Plus:
Despite Lenovo’s takeover of the Moto brand, the budget Moto G line is still a budget phone flag bearer. This is the best smartphone you can buy for less than $300 right now.
The G5 Plus boasts a 5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) screen, a zippy Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, and 4GB of RAM. The basic model has 32GB of storage, and there is a MicroSD card slot for expansion. You’ll also find a 12-megapixel camera with phase detection autofocus and laser autofocus, and a wide-angle 5-megapixel selfie camera. A 3,000mAh battery provides enough power to see you through a full day, and there’s a fingerprint sensor with support for swipe gestures.
One of the best things about the G5 Plus is the complete absence of bloatware. It almost feels like stock Android.
Motorola isn’t the most timely manufacturer when it comes to updates, which means it might be a while before the G5 Plus gets a major software upgrade, such as Android O. U.S. G5 Plus models also lack support for NFC, which is sure to disappoint if you’re keen to use your phone for contactless payments. Despite all that, the Moto G5 Plus is still a great all-rounder.
Motorola’s selling a cheaper variant of the G5 Plus, the G5, for $50 less. But you sacrifice the G5 Plus’s superior camera, half the RAM and storage capacity, and the fingerprint sensor. That’s not to say the G5 is a bad budget option, but if you have an extra $50 to spare, the G5 Plus is worth the splurge.
Moto G5 Plus Review
The best phone for less than $200
ZTE ZMax Pro
Why should you buy this: It’s amazing to get a phone this good for less than $200. Its 6-inch Full HD screen is great for phablet fans.
Our Score
The best phablet for less than $200
ZTE ZMax Pro
For less than $200, the ZMax Pro is a giant phablet and a giant steal.
$179.00 from T-Mobile
$99.00 from MetroPCS
Who’s it for: Anyone with a hard budget who likes big phones
How much will it cost: $100-$180
Why we picked the ZTE ZMax Pro:
You’ll be amazed at what you can get for a single Benjamin here. ZTE is offering an unbeatable bargain with the ZMax Pro, and we’re not sure how it can turn a profit with these specs at this price.
The ZTE ZMax Pro follows the big screen trend with a 6-inch, full HD display. It has a respectable Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor inside with 2GB of RAM. There’s 32GB of storage, with support for MicroSD card expansion. You also get a 13-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone is ably powered by a 3,400mAh battery that easily lasts a day between charges.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the ZMax Pro also features a nice curved design, a USB Type-C port with support for fast charging, a fingerprint sensor, and a minimal UI that’s close to stock Android.
The ZTE ZMax Pro is only available through T-Mobile and MetroPCS right now. The only major omission here is NFC. Camera performance is also mediocre, but for $100 it seems churlish to complain, because you are not going to find anything better. It’s $180 at T-Mobile, but that’s nothing to sneeze at, either.
ZTE ZMax Pro Review
How we test
We’re fanatical about our phones here at Digital Trends. Every phone we test serves as our main device for at least a week, often longer, so we can get a real feel for what life would be like living with it. We read on them, game on them, shoot video and photos, navigate, organize, and occasionally even make calls. Every facet is explored, every manufacturer claim is challenged, and we’re careful to take the intended audience and price tag into account when judgment time comes.
Debates on the best phones in different categories are a regular occurrence and no one on the mobile team is shy about sharing their opinion. When we find flaws, we tell like it is. Ultimately, we’ll never recommend any phone that we wouldn’t be happy using ourselves.
Is now a good time to buy?
This is a thorny question for technology in general, because there’s always something better just around the corner. There are signs the smartphone spec war has been slowing down recently, but what you can get for your money at the budget end of the market continues to change quite rapidly.
Much depends on your current situation. If you’re content with the phone you have, then keep it, because the longer you wait, the better your choices will be. You can also potentially save up more money while you wait to see what’s released.
In terms of events, there aren’t many options for budget phones other than the upcoming Moto Z2 Play, Moto E4 Plus, and a rumored budget Google Pixel 2. For Apple fans, there likely won’t be any new phone releases until September 2017, but you never know – the iPhone SE’s March, 2016 release was a surprise.
We think it will probably be late summer, or the middle of fall before we see new smartphones forcing their way onto this list. If you can’t wait that long, and you see something you like, this is a good time to pull the trigger.
Be kind to your wrist with this new Delux Vertical Mouse on Indiegogo
Why it matters to you
Spending hours sitting in front of a computer can be hard not only on your back and your eyes, but on your wrist, too. This wireless mouse wants to help.
When it comes to your workstation, we’ve paid plenty of heed to your back (with ergonomic chairs), to your eyes (with monitors that are growing ever larger), and even to your legs (with standing desks). But we haven’t paid all that much attention to your wrist. And given the sheer volume of work your wrist does for you on a daily basis — what with typing and moving a mouse around, it seems like high time we addressed this overlooked body part. And we can start with the Delux Vertical Mouse.
Now available on Indiegogo, this wireless device may not look like a mouse, but that could be because we’ve been thinking of mice all wrong for the last several years. Meant to reduce pain over the course of a long workday (or, let’s be honest, a long day of gaming), this vertical mouse features an interesting upright design that molds to the natural shape of your hand.
Completely wireless and promising an intuitive grip, the Delux also claims to connect quickly and easily to all your mobile devices, making it a sensible choice for your home, office, and going in between. The mouse features a 500Hz polling rate, and 4,000DPI (which will come in handy for gamers).
And although the design of the Delux may seem unfamiliar at first, its makers say that the mouse features all the same functions and features as more standard devices. “It’s hard to change your using habits, and we’d like to keep those [same] buttons for you,” the team notes on its Indiegogo page. You can still click left and right, scroll with a wheel, and go up or down on a page. The mouse also promises to track on virtually any surface, so you don’t have to bother with a mousepad (unless you just really want one).
You can pre-order a Delux Vertical Mouse now from Indiegogo for $56, with an estimated shipment sometime in August.
Instagram Live videos can now be saved for playback for 24 hours
Why it matters to you
The ephemerality of Instagram Live videos was once its differentiating factor, but now, Instagram is making these videos last a little longer.
Snapchat may have built an empire on ephemerality, but now that FOMO (which is to say, fear of missing out) is becoming more relevant every day, the concept of disappearing content may be … well, disappearing. At least, that appears to be Instagram’s strategy, now that it is giving users the option of saving public live broadcasts to your Instagram stories, where they can be viewed by your followers for 24 hours. That means that no longer will your followers have to worry about missing out on your content — instead, you can choose to share your live content even when it is no longer live.
While Instagram, for quite some time, appeared to be taking its cues from Snapchat, it now looks as though the photo-sharing platform is setting new precedents. This live video feature, after all, is not something that Snapchat has (yet) and it could help Instagram even further its lead over the rival social media app. Instagram Stories now boasts 250 million daily users, which represents a 50 million increase from its 200 million mark in April.
Snapchat, on the other hand, can only claim a total of 166 million daily users across its entire app — Instagram, for reference, has 700 million total users.
“From new creative tools to location stories, we’ve been focused on making it easier to share any moment and uncover stories from the accounts and interests that matter most to you,” Instagram told TechCrunch. “As a result, we are continuing to see strong growth both in the U.S. and internationally.”
And just maybe, this growth can be further bolstered by the change to Instagram Live videos.
The decision to make these videos accessible for longer periods of time could be a controversial one. After all, the instant disappearance of these videos one of the few truly differentiating factors for Instagram — Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope both allow for playbacks. That meant that Instagram Live videos were truly special, in a way.
But hey, at least now, your friends and families will not have to worry about missing out on any of your content. And isn’t that what matters most of all?
New ‘Orange is the New Black’ season leaked by hackers targeting Windows 7
Why it matters to you
If you are still running Windows 7, you may be at risk for a similar type of hack that led to the leak of episodes from the fifth season of Orange is the New Black.
If you were patiently waiting to revisit the inhabitants of Litchfield Penitentiary earlier this year, then it must have been a shock when 10 of the 13 episodes from the fifth season of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black were leaked online in April. According to the company that was hacked in order for the episodes to be liberated, the hack happened because it had a computer running Microsoft Windows 7.
Hacking group The Dark Overlord has claimed responsibility for leaking the new season more than a month before its scheduled release on Netflix. It breached the security of post-production company Larson Studios which worked on the new season. In an interview with Variety, it was revealed that Larson Studios’ security was breached because The Dark Overlord group was looking for computers running older versions of Windows, such as Windows 7, not perusing the internet to get the latest on Piper Chapman’s fictional life.
“They were basically just trolling around to see if they could find a computer that they could open,” said David Dondorf, Larson Studios chief engineer. “It wasn’t aimed at us.” The hackers stole and deleted all of the data on the company’s servers from numerous Hollywood studios that worked with Larson. The company first checked the servers and discovered the hack on Christmas Day 2016 after the company’s president, Rick Larson, and his wife, Jill, received an email from The Dark Overload threatening to leak everything it had from the company.
Larson Studios is working to make sure this never happens again by spending six figures to ramp up its security efforts. Some of those efforts involve keeping audio and video files separate, encrypting all data, and locking down all computers at Larson Studios. Larson claimed “a lot of what went on was ignorance,” in regard to Larson’s security efforts prior to the Orange is the New Black leak.
Windows 7 was released in 2009 and has been a hacker’s paradise as of late. Last year, Adobe systems running Windows 7 were among those targeted by hackers exploiting a vulnerability in its Flash player. Earlier this year, Microsoft stopped giving security updates to computers with the latest Intel or AMD processors running Windows 7.
Imperfect crystals may be perfect storage method for quantum computing
Why it matters to you
Scientists understand the basic principles of quantum computing better than ever, but a lot of work is required go beyond the limits of classical systems.
Quantum computing has come along in leaps and bounds over the past few years, but there are still plenty of practicalities that need to be figured out. The technology is completely distinct from classical computing, which means that many well-established practices need to be completely revamped.
For instance, consider the way that bits operate in a traditional computer. It’s possible to send one bit to multiple gates at the same time, or use a logical AND gate to combine two bits into one value. However, this isn’t the case when it comes to quantum bits, better known as qubits.
Qubits are very delicate, and altogether rather difficult to work with. Classical gates create a new bit based on the input they receive, but quantum gates can’t create a new qubit outright. Instead, qubits need to be initialized at the start of a computation, then stored safely until they are needed.
This is where a new paper published by a group of researchers from the University of Geneva comes in. It outlines a method of storing multiple qubits, which can be put in place at different times and still be accessible, utilizing the structure of an imperfect crystal.
A qubit is spread across all the atoms in a crystal, which makes it more difficult for its state to be disrupted, according to a report from Ars Technica. However, the drawback to this technique is that only one qubit can be stored at any given time, under normal circumstances.
Fortunately, the researchers have a solution — ions are applied to the crystal that shift it between three distinct states; the ground state, the storage state, and the excited state. Starting in the ground state, a photon (the qubit) is fired at the crystal and sends a single ion to the excited state.
However, the structure of the crystal means that all the ions have a chance of absorbing the photon, so it’s stored across the full gamut of ions. The ion that was in the excited state emits a slightly redder photon and enters the storage state, confirming that the qubit is in storage. To retrieve the information, a laser is applied to the crystal.
Here’s where the imperfect nature of a crystal’s structure comes into play. Ions are separated into several different populations that cycle between a maximum and minimum energy level near to that of the normal excited state. Different populations cycle at different rates, so with the proper timing, the laser can read one of several different qubits.
There is plenty more research to be done before this technique can be implemented in practice — but if it’s fruitful, this could be a real game changer for the field.
Heart disease treatment fights health problems with … photosynthesis?
Why it matters to you
Photosynthesis isn’t just for plants. Stanford researchers want to use it to save lives, too.
You are probably most familiar with photosynthesis as that thing you learned about in junior high school that explains how plants convert light energy into chemical energy in order to live. Over the years, there have been some interesting tech-related investigations into photosynthesis — ranging from “artificial leaves” capable of powering houses to potential methods of large-scale energy generation in a carbon-neutral manner.
Now researchers from Stanford University have a new use in mind: Utilizing photosynthesis and photosynthetic bacteria to help deliver oxygen around the body, in cases where blood flow temporarily stops due to blockages.
“We set out to try to think of different, out-of-the-box ways to approach heart disease,” Dr. Joseph Woo, chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford and lead author on the study, told Digital Trends. “I wanted to know if there was any way of taking photosynthesis, this natural mechanism which exists every day in the world, and harnessing it to try and increase oxygen in an otherwise oxygen-starved heart.”
Woo’s team started out by grinding up spinach and kale to combine with heart cells in a dish, but found that the process was not stable enough. Next, they successfully used photosynthetic bacteria in the form of blue-green algae, which is more rugged due to living in the water. They found that it was able to survive with heart cells in a dish.
The researchers then injected the bacteria into the beating hearts of anesthetized rats with cardiac ischemia, one of the conditions caused coronary artery disease. They found that the heart function of rats whose hearts were subsequently exposed to light were considerably healthier than those kept in the dark. While the bacteria dissipated within 24 hours, the improved cardiac function in the rats continued for upwards of one month.
It is still early days for the research, but Woo said the discovery might one day be applied to humans. Since physically opening up humans suffering from heart attacks, so that their hearts can be exposed to light, is not an ideal course of action, his team is investigating alternative methods a similar photosynthetic effect could be achieved. One possible solution involves finding ways to insert micro light sources into the body, while another could utilize the different wavelengths of light to find a light source that is able to penetrate the body.
A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Science Advances.
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